Anthony Kiedis Thought My Name Was ‘Tarot’
Co-Founder Mel’s Top 5 Tarot Decks
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5 favorite tarot decks
WHY IT’S CONSCIOUS: Tarot can be a tool for self development and discovery.
Anthony Kiedis most likely does not remember this story as it was but a fleeting second in his life, but one that my friends will never let me forget.
A few halloweens ago my friend wanted to show me all the fun parties happening in our neighborhood. I’m not really a costume person, but I said I’d go as a tarot reader… easy for me as I own a few decks. So I put on some silky blacks, my ‘witchiest’ looking hat and threw my vintage Aquarian Deck into a bag. At party number 2 of the evening, word got out that I was a ‘Tarot Reader’ – inverted commas because my ‘costume’ wasn’t really giving ‘I read cards’, but anyone/ any outfit in LA could potentially read your cards these days right ? Anyway, because of the confusion of my non-costume, when my friend introduced me to Anthony he mistakenly thought my NAME was Tarot, not that I was a Tarot Reader (obv I needed a better costume). From that day forth I was re-christened as Tarot by this group of friends and honestly, I kind of like it.
While I am novice at reading tarot, I love the alchemy of its artistry and ability to guide you through your own self-analysis and introspection. I like to use it as a tool more in this realm of being a guidance system, rather than some other outer power you’re looking to for answers or predictions.
Here’s some of my favorite decks that inspire new perspectives of self for me:
Illustrated by David Palladini and published in 1970 this is the first deck I ever bought. I was lucky enough to find a vintage version in Jobi Manson’s now closed ‘Sefari’ store in Malibu. Jobi also introduced me to one of my favorite tarot readers Nigel – I learnt so much from him.
This is an OG deck that many tarot card readers use. I love it for its simplicity and learning all the major arcana and minor arcana in a clear way. I find some of the newer decks, while gorgeously illustrated have too many other symbols which distract from the foundations of what we can learn from each archetype.
Also a good OG deck that many tarot readers use. First published in 1909 it’s still widely distributed today. One fact I learnt while putting together this article though is that the deck was actually illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith who was omitted from the deck mostly. So in the spirit of credit where credit is due we are calling it the Rider-Waite-Smith but you’ll find it in most places as the Rider-Waite deck. The symbolism is a little richer in this one vs Marseilles and you are prompted to layer in a little more around each archetype.
I first discovered Kim Krans through her Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Deck (a different type of deck, not tarot) and loved her artwork as well as her in-depth companion book. With a MA in Jungian Depth Psychology I found her interpretations of the symbols and archetypes helpful in guiding me on my own path of self- discovery. So when I saw that she had an actual tarot deck as well, I relished in her perspective of each card.
And something totally fun… Kiki shared this one with me and I love the joy it brings, even with the shadowier representations. It reminds me that whatever I am going through, to bring some lightness to it.
There are literally thousands of decks out there to discover and if you are really into the history and art, Jessica Hundley + Thunderwing’s Library of Esoterica volume: Tarot, published by Taschen documents a very substantial amount of what is out there.
This post was written by Mel ‘Tarot'(lol) Nahas, co-founder of Conscious City Guide.
